Citizen alerts authorities to stolen big rig and chop shop in Fresno County

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A tip from an alert citizen led investigators to a stolen big rig and chop shop in Fresno County.

The caller was a truck driver himself and noticed the exhaust pipes were missing on the truck-- which was suspicious. When the Fresno HEAT team arrived, they found multiple stolen vehicles and vehicle parts.

The business is ironically called Outlaw Trailers.

The owner, Peter Ramirez, and a man named Daniel Vargas were taken into custody.

The person who owns the big rig said he's just happy to have his property back.

"I mean, like any business that truck makes a $1,000 a day. So, you know, for the past two days it's made nothing. It's gonna cost ten times that to get it back where it needs to be and get goin," said Charles Wood, from Chowchilla.

"It's just so satisfying when you see the owners of this property, who are the victims of this property, come by and receive it and get it back," said Johnny Fischer, CHP.

Aside from the stolen big rig, investigators seized a 2006 Chevy pick-up truck and several stolen trailers with no markings on them.